of Chaitanya’s Deeds”), an account
describing the life of the Bengali saint
Chaitanya(1486–1533). Murari Gupta’s
text focuses on Chaitanya’s early life up
to his southern Indian pilgrimage end-
ing in 1513. The last part of the text
briefly mentions his pilgrimage to
Brindavanin 1514 and his final return
to Puri, where he lived for the rest of his
life. Like the other traditional accounts
of Chaitanya’s life, this does not purport
to be an “objective” biography; it is
rather a hagiography (idealized portrait)
written by a passionate devotee (bhakta).
Nevertheless, Murari Gupta was a con-
temporary and companion of Chaitanya;
his text reflects first-hand experience
and is the most reliable of these tradi-
tional sources.
Murti
(“shape,” “form”) The most common
name for a sculptural image of a Hindu
deityfashioned by human beings, rather
than those that are self-manifested
(svayambhu images) forms of the deity.
Murugan
(“fragrant, beautiful”) Hindu deitypri-
marily worshiped in southern India.
Murugan originally appears in the Tamil
Sangam literature, where he is a hill
deity associated with the hunt and wild,
unsettled places. One of Murugan’s
characteristic objects is the lance, sym-
bolizing the hunt. As brahminical Hindu
culture gradually came to southern
India, Murugan was drawn into the
established pantheon as a form of the
god Skanda, who is the son of the god
Shiva. By the tenth century Murugan’s
identity had evolved as that of a philoso-
pher and exponent of the Shaiva
Siddhantaphilosophical school and as
the patron deity of Tamil languageand
literature. For southern Indians, espe-
cially in the state of Tamil Nadu, wor-
shiping Murugan becomes a vehicle to
affirm their traditional culture. This has
been particularly true since Indian inde-
pendence in 1947, when the attempt to
impose Hindias the national language
was seen as northern Indian cultural
imperialism and was met with
incredible resistance. The cult of
Murugan has five major pilgrimage cen-
ters—Palani, Tiruchendur, Tiruttani,
Tirrupparankunram, and Swami Malai.
All of these sites are located in different
parts of Tamil Nadu. This network of
sacred sites (tirthas) is a way in which
the cult of Murugan has come to sym-
bolize Tamil identity. For further infor-
mation see Fred Clothey, “Pilgrimage
Centers in the Tamil Cultus of
Murukan,” in Journal of the American
Academy of Religion,Vol. 40, No.1, 1972.Musala
(“pestle”) A musala is a grinding pestle,
used with a mortar to husk and grind
grain. Miniature versions were used to
grind spices. Aside from its utilitarian
use, the musala’s long, club-like shape
could easily serve as a weapon. It is one
of the characteristic objects in Hindu
iconography, appearing with images of
various deities—the Goddess, Shiva,
and Vishnu.Murti